Infuriating Fans, 'Reagan's Blood' to Be Auctioned

A vial supposedly taken from president post-1981 shooting on the block

(Newser)
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It may sound creepy to you, but to the head of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, it's "craven": A UK-based auctioneer has put a vial purported to hold Reagan's blood up on the block. PFC Auctions says a lab technician spirited the blood out of the hospital where Reagan was treated following the failed 1981 assassination attempt against him, reports the BBC. "If indeed this story is true, it's a craven act and we will use every legal means to stop its sale or purchase," announced the director, who has received assurances from the hospital in question that it will look into "how something like this could possibly happen."

The latest bid clocks in at just under $12,000, and the auction closes on Friday. The bidders were apparently wooed by the auctioneer's compelling description of the "dried blood residue" that can be "clearly" seen in the five-inch vial. Should the Reagan foundation not prevail, the eventual winner will also walk away with a letter of provenance from the child of the lab tech, who professes that "these articles have actually been in my family's possession since ... the day that President Reagan was shot in Washington, DC."

The blood was supposedly drawn after the March 30, 1981, assassination attempt on then US president Ronald Reagan, after a conference outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC.
(Getty Images)

This photo taken by presidential photographer Mike Evens on March 30, 1981 shows President Ronald Reagan waving to the crowd just before the assassination attempt on him.
(Getty Images)

Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy speak during a campaign rally in Los Angeles in this November 1984 file photo.
(Getty Images)

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